Fisher hoop teams feel right at home at Fecteau-Leary

Lynn has a college basketball program it can call its own.

The Fisher College men’s and women’s basketball teams are playing their home games at the Fecteau-Leary School gymnasium, former home of Lynn Classical High School.

Anthony Perry, sports information director at Fisher College, said the athletic program started its association with Lynn last spring when the Fisher baseball team began using Fraser Field for home games. It continued with the softball team’s use of Grace Rogato Field and the arrangment expanded this winter to include basketball at Fecteau-Leary.

“We worked hand in hand with John Kasian,” said Perry. “Mr. Kasian and our athletic director, Scott Dulin, who is also our head baseball coach, put together a package for the use of the Fecteau-Leary gym. We were able to come in here and provide the city with some money and move all our programs to Lynn.”

Perry, a Fisher College Class of 2008 graduate who played independent league professional baseball for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, said he likes the arrangement for Fisher basketball in Lynn.

“Personally I like it because this is, for once, our home,” said Perry. “We are the main tenants here. We have our practices here as well. Previously we played at a facility [Madison Park High School] in Boston and we were the third team to use it. Being in Lynn has made life a whole lot easier for our teams.”

Fisher College, which has 674 students and is located on Beacon Street in Boston, plays in the NAIA Division 2. The NAIA has more than 200 schools. Fisher plays in the Sunrise Conference that extends from Fort Kent, Maine, to Canton, N.Y. to Boston. Fisher does not have its own college gymnasium.

“Lynn has been very welcoming and we appreciate everything they have done for us,” said Perry. “It truly does feel like home.”

Fisher College men’s basketball coach David Lindberg welcomed the opportunity to play home games in Lynn.

“We’ve been looking for a home and Lynn’s really embraced us,” said Lindberg. “I think it’s going to be a nice fit for us and this gym gives us a nice home court advantage.”

For assistant coach Jae Holland, the move to Lynn is a homecoming. Holland was a member of the 2002 Division 3 state championship Lynn Tech boys basketball team. He starred for coach Marvin Avery and was a teammate of current professional basketball player Antonio Anderson at Tech.

“I’m glad that my alma mater has the opportunity to play in my hometown,” said Holland, a former Fisher College hoop captain. “It’s always great to come back home. I still stay in contact with Coach Avery. He’s a great mentor to me.”